Strings Attached
by JeanJacquesFrancois
Summary: For all Renly's protests that there was nothing official about his current fling, Jaime merely raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at Brienne. "Of course," he laughed. "Because it's completely irrational to assume that you might be in a relationship with the guy who sleeps over at least three times a week and who has his own set of keys."
1. Chapter 1

September 2012

The club was crowded and hot, and despite spending what seemed to be forever looking for them, Renly couldn't find Brienne or any of the others he'd arrived with. He sighed, taking another sip from his drink and wincing when the vodka burned his throat and he remembered quite why he'd left it only half-drunk in the first place. He briefly contemplated renewing his search for Brienne, but glancing at his phone, he reckoned there was a definite possibility that she'd have already been tracked down by Jaime and taken home; she was never a fan of this sort of thing anyway. Instead thus, he headed over towards the bar, the bass pounding through his chest and his vision swimming slightly from the drink that was definitely too much vodka and not enough orange juice.

Renly had to force his way through the crowd to get there, weaving in and out of people that seemed too drunk to stand. Every now and then, a girl would try and catch his eye, one even pressing herself up against him so that he could see down her top. Renly sighed. He had no desire to buy her a drink, or take her home, and he especially hadn't wanted to find out first-hand that she most definitely wasn't wearing a bra.

There was a queue to get drinks, and Renly was almost at the front when a row broke out between some girl and a guy who'd apparently tried to put his hand up her skirt. Moments later, the girl's boyfriend got involved, and before Renly could see what was going on, people were pushing and shoving, yelling for the two guys to fight. Renly winced as a girl's stiletto landed painfully on his foot; he'd only wanted another drink.

He stopped complaining, however, when he happened to glance up and find that the crowd had pushed him up against someone who by all standards was devastatingly attractive. He was tall, not quite as tall as him, but tall enough Renly thought. And unlike the last guy he'd met in a club that Renly had thought to be passing attractive, he was sure that this one would still be drop dead gorgeous in the morning, when there was no vodka interfering with his judgement.

What surprised him more however, was that he seemed to be interested, not even complaining when the crowd pushed him up against Renly for a second time. Renly grinned. Usually, he loathed nightclubs like this one; everyone he seemed to think was attractive always turned out to be straight, or on the off chance that they were interested in guys, more often than not they were already involved. Sadly, it was never something he'd thought to consider when trawling through university league tables, and whilst he'd been advised to check out the student satisfaction statistics and the ratio of tutors to students, nobody had thought to tell him to also look into the proximity to gay bars.

This guy however had no stumbling girl, or guy for that matter, hanging onto his arm, and judging from how attractive he was, Renly wouldn't have expected that. He decided to test the water, not stepping back even when there was clearly room to do so. Instead, he looped his fingers about the guys wrist.

The guy just smirked, and not breaking the eye contact until he really had to, turned around and headed out towards the smoking area, evidently inviting Renly to follow him.

Renly did, downing his drink and following him out. It was cooler outside and Renly pushed his hair out of his eyes, breathing in the smoky air.

The guy was standing by the wall, rolling up a cigarette.

"Got a light?" He asked when Renly approached and Renly was pleased to see he was still gorgeous even under the harsh light of the street lamps. He had the most amazing hair, Renly thought. It fell over his eyes in corkscrew curls. They looked like they would be fun to play with and Renly had the sudden urge to tug on one and see if was as springy as it looked.

Instead though, he fished in his pockets and pulled out a lighter, handing it to him. "What's your name?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"Loras." the guy replied, lighting his cigarette and taking a drag. "What's yours?"

"Renly." He took the cigarette when it was offered and inhaled deeply before handing it back. "You a student here?"

The guy looked thoughtful for a moment, rolling the cigarette in between his fingers before answering. "Yeah." he said. "First year, English Lit."

Renly was half way through telling him that he was a second year lawyer when he was cut off rather shortly, the guy pressing him up against the wall and leaning in to kiss him. He tasted of vodka and smoke, and something faintly sweet that Renly couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Yours or mine?" Renly panted when they parted for long enough for him to get a few words out.

"Yours." The guy grinned up at him as he wrapped an arm around Renly's waist and leant in to kiss him once more.

…...

It took Loras a few moments to remember where he was when he woke up. Daylight was streaming through the curtains and it was only when Loras glanced sleepily around and saw his clothing still strewn about the room, that it all came flooding back to him; the shared cigarette, the drunken kisses, the rather awkward walk back to the guy's house. He remembered it all, even the part where he'd been pushed up against the opposite wall and fucked so hard that he'd panted the other guy's name into his mouth. He grinned, especially that part perhaps.

The name was slow in coming to him now though and it wasn't until he glanced up and saw the guy in question sitting across from him on a tattered old desk chair that Loras managed to recall it. _Renly_. Renly, the second year lawyer who could do truly amazing things with his mouth in fact. Loras formed it silently in his head. The name felt good on his tongue.

He grinned and sat up, hopeful that Renly, or whatever he was called, would come back to bed and fuck him again. Glancing at his expression though, Loras didn't think it likely somehow. He had a small frown on his face and, unless Loras was sorely mistaken, was looking at him rather disdainfully. He was holding something too, something small and rectangular that he kept glancing back down at before looking again back at him.

Looking closer, Loras' heart sunk when he realised it was his fake ID. It had done well enough to get him past the bouncers yesterday, but that had been in the dark, and the doormen had only casually glanced at it before stamping his hand. In broad daylight, however, Loras reckoned it would be painfully easy to see that his photo was glued on with Pritt Stick and that the fake holographic sticker was peeling off slightly at the sides.

"What's this?" Renly's tone was mild but Loras reckoned he was the sort of guy who probably wouldn't show it if he was angry.

He just shrugged. He'd lied to a lot of guys about his age. This one just happened to be the first one who'd called him out on it.

"_What is this?_" Renly repeated when Loras didn't answer.

Loras rolled out of bed, fishing around for his clothes. "You know full well what it is." He pulled on his boxers. "Look, I'm sorry. Is that what you want to hear?"

The guy's frown deepened. "Are you even a student?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters." He put the ID back on the floor. "You're seventeen right?"

Loras winced. It looked like this guy was going to take this badly, which was a shame, Loras thought, because he'd really have liked to see him again. He briefly contemplated lying again and confirming that he was seventeen but he thought perhaps that to lie twice about the same thing in twenty four hours would be pushing the boundaries."I'll be sixteen in April." He said eventually, not meeting the guy's eyes.

_"Sixteen in April._" He looked mildly horrified. "You do realise that's illegal?"

"What's illegal?" Loras yawned.

"_This_." Renly hissed. "What we did last night."

"Oh that." Loras grinned. "Well nobody actually cares about that sort of stuff anymore."

Renly seemed to think otherwise. He'd picked up one of the large textbooks on his desk and was brandishing it in Loras' face. "I'm a lawyer. I care." He rifled through the text book. "Ashby 2001. Stevens 2006. Wilson 2010. _See_. People do care. You can get prosecuted for this."

Loras resisted the urge to laugh. It was quite endearing somehow, the way he was flipping through the pages and reeling off various cases to try to prove his point.

He must have done a poor job at hiding his amusement, for Renly ran his hands through his hair despairingly. "This is statutory rape, what I just did."

Loras shrugged. "I was up for it. It was hardly without my consent."

"That's not the point." Renly hissed. "You're not old enough to give consent. And I should know, half of my first year exams were on this sort of stuff."

"A pity." Loras said. "Because last night was really good." He couldn't hold back the laughter this time at Renly's expression. "No chance of a repeat of that this morning?"

The guy's eyebrows disappeared into his hair. "Obviously not." He snapped. "Get your clothes on."

Loras sighed and pulled on his jeans. He hadn't had all that many one night things with guys, but this would definitely mark the first time that he'd ended by being reprimanded the morning after.

"That's it." Renly hissed when Loras was fully dressed. "I'm taking you home."

And with that, Loras was ushered out of the room and down the stairs. He could hear people chatting in what he assumed was the kitchen, but Renly didn't stop to speak to them and Loras very much got the impression that Renly didn't want any of his housemates to see him leave.

Renly's car was a rather beat up red thing with a large dent in the front. Loras resisted the urge to sigh as he was pushed almost forcefully into the passenger seat. He'd thought previously that he'd hit an all time low as far as embarrassing situations went that time in year seven when his grandmother had decided to accompany his mother to parent's evening, but he thought this might just top it.

"Seatbelt." Renly instructed, not even looking at him as he put the key in the ignition. It took several tries to start. "Where do you live?"

Loras rolled his eyes and recited his address.

They drove for a while in silence, Loras watching the people passing by and trying to work out quite where they were in relation to his house. It wasn't long before Renly had turned onto a road he recognised and Loras guestimated it to be a couple of miles perhaps between his own house and where Renly lived.

"So," Loras started, thinking he had nothing left to lose here. "I'm guessing there isn't any chance of me seeing you again?"

"Certainly not." Renly said curtly, though Loras was pleased to see him hesitate slightly. As much as he was claiming now to be horrified, Loras knew that he'd very much enjoyed last night too, he'd certainly given that impression at the time at least. Loras grinned, remembering. At nineteen, or maybe even twenty or twenty one, depending on whether he'd taken a gap year, Renly was the oldest guy Loras had been with, and it had certainly showed.

"Suit yourself." Loras shrugged and they didn't speak again until Renly had pulled up on his road, thankfully a little way down from his house, for which Loras was grateful. This morning could only be made worse, he reckoned, by his parents finding out that he most certainly hadn't been staying at Robb's house like he'd told them.

He sighed as he made to get out the car, mildly surprised when the guy put his hand on his arm.

"Here's your ID back." He handed it back to him seemingly rather reluctantly, black hair falling over his eyes and making Loras' stomach do back flips. ""And nobody can know about this."

"Alright." Loras shrugged.

"Nobody" He repeated

"I said _alright_." Loras got up and shut the door behind him, sighing slightly. He supposed it was only ever going to have been a one night thing, but even so, he reckoned that this particular guy, with his silky black hair which felt so good knotted around Loras' fingers and his sparkling eyes which had seemed so green in the bar and yet were so clearly blue by the light of the street lamps, was going to be rather difficult to forget. All the same, he didn't turn around to say goodbye.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Sorry for the long wait. It's actually written now up to chapter 4 so I'll be posting chapters in relative quick succession if there's any interest :) Also, have changed the date slightly because I realised I'd made the time period of Loras being fifteen too short. September 2012 is what we shall go with, with Loras turning 16 in April 2013 :)

Renly watched him walk away until he'd turned the corner, disappearing from sight and hopefully for good. He had had half a mind to drive him to the door and thwart whatever lie the kid had no doubt told his parents, and probably would have done so too had it not been a rather self-incriminating thing to do; he imagined he could certainly do without the accusing questions the boy's parents would no doubt ask.

He leant his head against the dashboard for a moment, sighing deeply and trying to ignore the dull throbbing in his head. Of all the awkward one night stands he had had, this one had no doubt been the worst. He didn't know whether to feel guilty, or angry, or even humiliated. It stung a little to know now that during at least half of the little conversation they'd had last night, the boy had been lying shamelessly to his face, and that he'd lapped it all up.

All the same though, he couldn't quite help his curiosity getting the better of him despite his injured pride, and instead of turning round and going back the way he had come, he decided to drive a little further and see if he could see where the boy lived.

He spotted him a couple of hundred metres down the road, on the front step of a large white house with a rather impressive front garden. He seemed oblivious to his presence, instead busy searching in his pockets for keys.

The house surprised Renly, as had the address the boy had given him earlier. This was a nice house in a nice area, a very expensive area nonetheless, and it seemed at odds somehow with the way the boy had behaved last night. He wouldn't have expected a kid from an evidently well-to-do family to be even out last night, let alone looking to go home with someone.

Renly sighed as the boy continued his search in his pockets. He was undeniably gorgeous despite his youth, and yet now Renly knew better, he could see the tell-tale signs that he probably ought to have spotted yesterday. He hadn't filled out properly yet and neither did he have even a hint of stubble.

The boy had just found his keys when the door opened anyway and a girl who Renly assumed to be a sibling appeared. She had curly hair like him, except hers fells to her waist instead of just over her eyes. Renly had no idea what kind of lie the boy had told his parents last night but whatever it was, the girl seemed in on it, for they whispered intently to each other on the front step for a few moments, evidently making sure their stories matched. Eventually they both laughed and they disappeared inside.

Renly drove off as the door shut behind them, not wanting to risk anyone looking out of the window and seeing him there. It was a rather miserable drive home, a vague sense of guilt still hanging over him despite him being safe in the knowledge that it wasn't his fault the boy had lied to him.

He bit back a sigh as he pulled into his road. Despite what he'd said to the kid earlier, he knew it was unlikely that he could actually get in any serious trouble for what had happened last night. For one, the boy would never press charges, and even if he did, the case wouldn't even get to court. The boy had clearly lied and Renly had been completely within his rights to assume that all of the clientèle at an over eighteen bar would in fact be over eighteen and let alone under sixteen.

What did worry him though was the impact such an incident could potentially have on any future career he wanted to pursue. He had had hopes of becoming a judge and yet that would be out of the question if such an incident came to light. It was the sort of thing that he could definitely be rejected from the bar for, even accepting that he hadn't done anything wrong on purpose.

Brienne was in the kitchen making lunch when he came back in and Renly couldn't help but sigh when he saw that Jaime was over. Whilst the blonde Lannister had grown on Renly slightly over time, right now he couldn't be bothered with him. Brienne would understand if he had no desire to make small talk this particular afternoon. Jaime certainly would not.

Indeed, Renly had no sooner entered the kitchen and Jaime was already badgering him. "Had a good night last night?" He cocked an eyebrow and leant back on his chair lazily.

Renly just sighed and went to start on his washing up that had somehow piled up to an extraordinary height over the last week. "Yeah it was alright." He said, sounding awkward even to his own ears.

"Sounded more than alright." Jaime pressed, smirking slightly as Brienne set down a plate of scrambled egg in front of him and handed him a spoon.

"Mm-hmm." Renly mumbled. He couldn't really dispute that he supposed. For all the revelations this morning, he couldn't deny that he had very much enjoyed last night. There seemed something rather shameful however about admitting that fact even to himself.

"What?" Jaime laughed at Renly's lack of a response. "What was wrong with the poor guy?"

Renly shrugged. He had no intention of telling anyone that he had unwittingly bedded a fifteen year old, and even if he had, Jaime Lannister would certainly have not been first on his list.

"Are you going to see him again?" Brienne asked as she spooned baked beans onto Jaime's plate. Renly resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Ever since Jaime had injured his hand playing tennis, Brienne seemed to do everything for him, driving Renly crazy with the way she'd watch over him in her quiet way, just in case Jaime couldn't tie his shoelaces, or brush his hair, or had to spend an extra ten seconds struggling to unlock the door with his left hand. A small voice told Renly often that his irritation was probably more due to the fact that Brienne had used to dote on him like that and didn't anymore rather than anything particular to do with Jaime, but Renly was rather good at ignoring that particular little voice.

Brienne glanced down at him when he didn't answer, her big blue eyes full of patience.

Renly laughed. "You ask this every time I bring someone home." He sighed dramatically. "And every time I give you the same answer. You know I don't have time for anything serious. I barely get all my essays done as it is."

Jaime grinned. "You should just admit you're commitment-phobic. We all know it's true."

Renly rolled his eyes. "I am not commitment-phobic. I'm just not interested." Inwardly though, he had to concede that Jaime probably had a little bit of a point. Even if the kid hadn't been so young, there would never have been any question of Renly seeing him again on anything other than a strictly casual basis. The idea of actually dating someone made him inexplicably nervous. He'd never had a serious boyfriend and he imagined that all sorts of feelings could get hurt. There'd been a rather dismal time last year when Brienne had wanted to date him and he could still remember with horror the nights that she'd spent desperately trying to make him notice her before he'd eventually swallowed his pride and admitted to her that he wasn't interested in women.

Jaime laughed. "So dating is out of bounds, but fucking is ok?"

Renly gave a small laugh. "Pretty much. Much less hassle, nobody gets their feelings hurt, and I still get my work in on time."

"One day." Jaime said, "One day you'll meet someone and like them enough not to care whether it's a hassle, or whether it'll make you get a third."

Renly grimaced. If there was one thing that terrified Renly more than dating did, it was getting a third. He thought about pointing out to Jaime that most people couldn't get by merely by swinging a tennis racket every so often and walking home with a cheque for a ridiculous amount of money in their pocket and a trophy under his arm.

Instead though, he just nodded and reached for a tea towel. It was filthy but he found he didn't particularly care at the moment.

He dwelt rather too much on the boy that evening, but it was only when he'd gone to bed that night that a rather worrying thought struck him and he found himself wondering rather anxiously whether that had been the boy's first time. He liked to think he would have been able to tell, and indeed the boy had seemed far too comfortable with everything to be quite that inexperienced, but all the same Renly couldn't help but feel rather agitated about it. He'd been quite drunk last night and he easily might not have noticed if he'd hurt the boy, especially at the beginning with the kid facing away from him.

He sighed and rolled over, trying to put it out of his mind. He supposed it wasn't his problem really anyway.

...

Loras was almost asleep when he heard the door creak open and the soft pad of his sister's footsteps on the carpet. He opened his eyes sleepily, and indeed Margaery was hovering over him, her hair in a long plait that hung over her shoulder. He yawned and moved over so she could climb in beside him.

"What is it Margaery?" He sat up in bed and pushed his hair out of his face.

"You promised to tell me all about it." She whispered insistently. "That was the deal."

Loras grinned. That was the agreement he and Margaery always made. Whenever one of them had to lie to their parents, the other would back them up with whatever story they told on the condition that they'd get the gossip later.

He laughed. "How do you know there's even anything decent to tell you?"

She raised her eyebrows and looked pointedly at his neck. Loras rolled his eyes. The guy had had rather rough stubble and it had left a rather faint rash all up his neck. He'd thought it virtually unnoticeable, but he should have counted on his eagle-eyed sister picking up on it.

"Not very clean-shaven was he?" Margaery laughed. "Did you have a good time?"

Loras shrugged. "The sex was good. Bit embarrassing in the morning though. Obviously I'd told him I was a student and he sort of found out that wasn't true in the morning."

Margaery grimaced. "What did he say?"

Loras sighed. "Well he's a law student, so he wouldn't shut up about how did I know it was illegal et cetera and did I know he could technically go to jail for that. I felt quite bad by the end of it."

Margaery laughed. "Sounds a bit over the top if you ask me, you can't really argue with it though I guess."

Loras nodded. "I didn't. He was quite adamant about it. A bit wound up to say the least. Attractive though." He sighed. "Really really attractive."

"What? More attractive than you?" Margaery said, mock disbelief lacing her voice. "Surely not?"

Loras rolled his eyes. "He'd definitely give me a run for my money." He admitted rather reluctantly.

Margaery looked genuinely surprised now. "Well that's a first. Was he nice as well?"

Loras shrugged. "Seemed so." He grinned. "I can't say we talked all that much though, so it's hard to say."

Margaery laughed. "Spare me the details. I can do without that sort of mental images."

Loras poked her hard under the covers. "Well leave me in peace then." He was rather tempted to tell her anyway just to make her squirm but remembered just in time that Margaery would no doubt be able to tell him things he had no desire to know details about either.

She didn't stay long after that and Loras was rather relieved when he was able to stretch out in bed and close his eyes again. He was exhausted; he'd had hardly any sleep last night and the little bit that he had got had been interrupted every few hours by one or the other of them waking up and feeling that sleep was rather a waste of time.

Sleep didn't feel like a waste of time now however and Loras found himself thinking back to something Margaery had said as he drifted off. She'd asked whether the guy had been nice and dwelling more on that now, Loras began to feel slightly uncomfortable. He'd very much seemed like a decent guy and whilst his fretting this morning had been highly amusing, he'd seemed rather agitated to say the least.

It was rather a foreign feeling for Loras, and for one of the first times in his memory, it was with a slight sense of regretting how he'd acted last night that Loras eventually fell into rather a restless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Late October 2012

Renly was still in bed with the curtains firmly shut and his duvet pulled over his head when he was rudely awoken by someone knocking loudly on his bedroom door. He briefly considered calling for them to come in, and yet his head was still spinning far too much for him to face the world just yet, and so instead, he tried to drown the noise out, burying his head under his many pillows.

Whoever it was, Brienne or Jaime he supposed, must have been feeling rather persistent that morning though, for they knocked again, loudly.

And so reluctantly, Renly sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, feeling his head pound as the room span around him, courtesy no doubt of the house party one of the other lawyers had invited him to yesterday. His memory of it was blurry to say the least, and yet he was sure Brienne and Jaime had come too, Jaime of course complaining loudly and often that he was too old to be drinking Tesco-value Vodka and watching students throwing up all over themselves, and so how either of them were up quite this early was beyond Renly.

He was just about to lie back down and stubbornly ignore the knocking when the door flew open of its own accord however and he found himself staring up into Jaime Lannister's smug face.

"Rude to keep a lady waiting," he called, smirking as he ushered a distinctly embarassed-looking Brienne forward.

Renly groaned and pulled the covers back over his shoulders, suddenly conscious of the fact he didn't seem to be wearing much despite the fact that he supposed Brienne probably had little to no interest in seeing him without his clothes now that she had Jaime to fawn over. Once he was suitably covered though, he turned to glare at Jaime.

"Have you never heard of a little thing called_ privacy_ Jaime?" Renly shot through the open door.

Jaime laughed. "Someone's touchy this morning."

Renly yawned. "Someone's rude this morning. I might have had company for all you bloody well know."

Jaime snorted. "Fat chance of that. You'd still be passed out on the kitchen table if Brienne hadn't taken pity on you and put you to bed yesterday." He grinned condescendingly at Renly before then swanning out of the room, leaving Brienne standing alone in the doorway.

Renly groaned and lay back down. That would be why he had no recollection of coming home yesterday. In fact, the last thing he remembered was challenging Brienne to a drinking competition, an idea that Renly knew to be a ridiculously stupid one now, but that had seemed like such a brilliant one yesterday after a few glasses of wine. He was mildly worried for a few moments that Brienne had undressed him too, and that Jaime had watched on and filmed it or something, but glancing around, he couldn't see any of his clothes meticulously folded anywhere as Brienne would no doubt have done. Thankfully, on further inspection, he found yesterday's outfit in a crumpled heap under his duvet, a sure sign that he had probably undressed himself drunkenly after Brienne had put him to bed._ Probably_, he thought with another groan, as for all he knew, Brienne may well have undressed him whilst Jaime filmed it before Jaime then screwed up his clothes in an attempt to make him think he'd taken his own clothes off. He wouldn't put it past Jaime to do something like that, and yet he liked to think that Brienne liked him enough not to let her boyfriend post naked pictures of him on facebook.

He was pulled from his musings, however, when the woman herself stumbled forward, a large tray balanced in her arms.

"Morning." Renly mumbled as politely as he could manage. He supposed it wasn't her fault her boyfriend was such an arse who had no respect for privacy.

"Morning?" She looked confused. "It's half past one Renly."

Renly just groaned and pulled the pillow back over his head. "Can't be."

"Well it is." To Renly's annoyance, she drew back the curtains, letting the light stream in. His annoyance faded though, when he glanced up and saw that the tray she had in her arms was carrying breakfast and it was quickly coming his way.

He sat up rather quickly then. "Is that for me?" he asked hopefully, grinning when she nodded.

"Don't thank me," she mumbled, rather embarrassed. "I was making some for Jaime anyway."

Renly laughed. He should have known there had been a reason behind her bringing him breakfast in bed. He tucked in eagerly though. "Brienne?" he asked presently, in between mouthfuls of toast. "How is it that you're never hung over?"

She just shrugged and Renly sighed. It was one of the great mysteries of Brienne. She didn't often drink, but when she did, she seemed more tank than human, drinking them all under the table and never seeming to suffer for it afterwards. More than once, she had dragged both himself and Jaime back from various parties where they'd drunk too much.

"What you up to this afternoon then?" Renly asked, once most of the breakfast had disappeared. He grinned. "Though I suppose if Jaime's around, then you'll probably just be...?"

Brienne blushed furiously, turning the same colour as her freckles. "Actually, he's agreed to come to the courts with me. Try to play with his left hand."

Renly raised an eyebrow. For months now, both Brienne and Jaime's coach had been trying to convince Jaime that just because he'd lost decent use of his right hand, it didn't mean his tennis career was necessarily over. It wasn't until now though it seemed, that Jaime was willing to take her up on her constant offers to practice with him.

Renly grinned. "Can I come watch?" He'd seen Jaime play countless times, usually on television winning some grand slam or another, and whilst it usually bored him to death to see Jaime collect trophies like other people collected stamps, he imagined that watching the infamously talented Jaime Lannister struggle to hit a ball with his left hand might be a good way to spend a hung-over afternoon.

Brienne though, being Brienne and without a dishonest bone in her body, seemingly didn't notice his ulterior motive, for she nodded and smiled. "If you like." she said. "Though only if you're supportive."

Renly grinned widely. _"Of course_ I'll be supportive."

She looked a little suspicious then but didn't withdraw her offer and so after she left, Renly dragged himself out of bed, stumbling into the shower before dressing.

Brienne and Jaime were bickering by the time he got downstairs, Jaime insisting adamantly that he was perfectly capable of driving to the courts one-handed whilst Brienne duly recited the Highway Code at him, even despite the fact that she didn't hold so much as a provisional driving licence.

If Jaime hadn't gotten on his bad side this morning, Renly might have considered offering to drive them, but as it was, he'd spent his last tenner on wine last night anyway and his petrol was a little on the low side. For not the first time, he wished that Stannis wasn't quite so adamant that Renly learn to be financially responsible rather than sponging off him and Robert.

"We'll walk then." Brienne insisted, wrapping a stripy scarf around her neck that definitely had once belonged to Jaime before opening the door and ushering them outside as if both he and Jaime needed help crossing the road or something.

It was a twenty minute walk to the tennis courts that Jaime and Brienne favoured and yet every step proved to be worth it, Renly thought, for the afternoon was as amusing as he'd hoped. He'd settled himself down on a bench at the edge of the courts, where he had a perfect view.

Jaime and Brienne together was usually an odd sight by any standards, and yet today they looked even more ridiculous for Jaime had decided to don a rather odd tweed cap which must have originally belonged to either his father or someone who evidently played more golf than was advisable. He'd pulled it low over his eyes, the peak shading his face and supposedly keeping any of the other players from recognising him. It was working, Renly thought. The hat, combined with the fact that he was currently playing rather like a particularly competitive twelve year old schoolgirl might, meant that Renly reckoned it was highly unlikely that anyone would recognise him as the three year running Wimbledon champion.

Brienne and Jaime were standing talking now, Jaime's hands in Brienne's own large ones in a rare display of public affection as she no doubt told him he was doing well despite the fact that even Renly with his piss-poor knowledge of tennis could have told him that wasn't the case. He was quite enjoying listening to her feeble encouragement and yet when Brienne lifted her hand to Jaime's face and she tenderly started stroking his hair, Renly quickly changed his mind, having a sudden urge to vomit that had nothing to do with the fact he'd been drinking last night.

Looking away, he contemplated getting his textbook out of his bag and doing some reading for his next essay, but his head was throbbing a little too much still for that. And so finding nothing better to do, he glanced around instead at Jaime and Brienne's tennis-playing peers.

The people on the courts around them were looking rather better than Jaime had been, most darting around the court with such an energy that Renly would have thought they were in a grand-slam final rather than merely practising on a cold autumn afternoon. One girl Renly even found he recognised; she'd been in the US open quarter-finals last year and was practising serving, the ball moving with such a speed that Renly could barely track it. Every now and again though, she'd take a break, casting suspicious looks in Jaime's direction.

It was the boy on the court next to her though that caught Renly's eye. He was standing with his back to Renly, hitting backhand after backhand as an older man threw a constant stream of tennis balls at him as if he was some kind of tennis ball machine. Renly was sure he'd seen the boy somewhere before, and yet it wasn't until he turned around and pushed his very curly hair out of his eyes that Renly put his finger on quite who it was.

Their eyes met and Renly quickly looked away, turning pointedly back to watching Jaime and Brienne, wishing very much now that he was wearing the ugly cap Jaime was favouring today.

He only glanced back over when it was clear the boy had turned back round and had resumed hitting tennis balls into the corner of the court. Renly didn't know much about tennis and yet he thought he looked good. Whether this was because he was anything decent with a racket or because his polo shirt was sticking to him slightly though, Renly wasn't sure.

He was enviably graceful, like Jaime had been before he messed up his hand, and Renly had to shake himself a little to stop his thoughts becoming rather too inappropriate.

He tried to be discreet with his watching but he must have failed miserably for Jaime caught him looking and raised a mocking eyebrow. "He's good." he commented grudgingly, following Renly's gaze. "Very good in fact." He smirked. "Though I doubt you were watching his tennis."

Renly rolled his eyes even though Jaime's words were rather true. To be quite honest, he didn't really care in the slightest if the boy was any good. But he was hot, hotter than Renly would have liked to admit. A very disconcerting thought considering that Renly still felt mildly uncomfortable when he thought back to their first encounter.

Sighing, he opened his bag and got out his textbook, turning to an inanely dull section on tax that he had to read before even attempting his next essay. He supposed though that even if he only managed ten or twenty pages, it would still be more productive than staring at a fifteen year old he wasn't allowed to sleep with.

It was only when Brienne, quite clearly in Renly's opinion even despite most of his attention being focused on his textbook, began missing shots on purpose to save Jaime's pride, that Renly noticed that the boy had stopped playing and was approaching him. He sighed and had to laugh a little. The boy either had a lot of nerve, absolutely no shame, or perhaps both, for he was walking over to him without even a hint of awkwardness.

"Fancy seeing you here." The boy laughed when he reached him, his tennis racket still in his hand.

"Mm." Renly returned non-committally with a smile, not really knowing what to say for once. A sensible part of him told him that he should probably have as little as possible to do with the the kid and yet the rest of him was insisting that there was no point being rude.

Eventually, he decided on a compromise and figured there couldn't be any harm in just talking to him, and staring at him a bit perhaps. It wasn't like he could fuck him on the side of the tennis courts or anything. So he smiled and shuffled along the bench. "Do you want to sit down?"

The boy, _Loras_, Renly recalled vaguely, took him up on his offer and sat down beside him. He must not have forgotten Renly's irritation at him though for he left a decent amount of room between them.

"So are you a tennis fan then?" He asked, pushing his hair out of his face and gesturing over to Jaime and Brienne, where Jaime, presumably having become embarrassed at his performance, had reverted back to coaching Brienne as he usually did.

Renly laughed. "Not particularly. Just here for the show."

"But you're on a tennis court with Jaime Lannister?"

Renly laughed. It seemed that Jaime's ugly cap had achieved nothing save for making Jaime look like he bought his clothes in dingy charity shops. "He'll be disappointed he was recognised."

The boy raised an eyebrow, folding his arms and frowning up at Renly. "Is that what that ugly hat is for then?"

Renly laughed. "I assume so. He's dating my friend over there. We don't get on very well."

The boy looked puzzled. "I never knew Jaime Lannister went that way?"

Renly rolled his eyes. He supposed it was rather easy to mistake Brienne for a man, especially when she had her straw-like hair scraped back against her scalp as she always did when she played tennis. She towered over Jaime by a good five inches and hit the ball as hard as most men did. And even Jaime at his two-handed best had struggled often to return her serves. It didn't help either that she even dressed like a man too, refusing to deviate from her simple wardrobe of jeans and some boring top or another, most of which Renly would like very much to burn, for any occasion save for weddings and funerals.

He laughed though. "He's not. My friend's a girl."

The boy looked again and shrugged nonchalantly, not seeming in the least ill-at-ease for having mistaken Brienne for a guy. "So how's law going?" he asked when he'd finished looking Brienne up and down.

"You remember what subject I study." Renly laughed. He'd thought at the time that the kid hadn't paid any attention at all to him rambling on about all the laws and constitutions that he'd broken by sleeping with him. He was rather pleasantly surprised.

Loras shrugged. "You spent a good ten minutes brandishing one of your text books at me. It would be hard to forget."

Renly grinned. "Right... sorry about that. I probably did overreact a little."

The boy laughed and shrugged. "Nah it's alright. I probably had it coming to be honest."

Renly smiled. It wasn't a proper apology and yet the kid didn't seem like the sort that much went in for grovelling and so Renly supposed he would do well to accept it.

Even that rather poor apology cleared the air rather quite a bit though, and they chatted for a good long while after that, the kid mainly asking him about uni and other banal stuff that Renly was rather good at talking about, and Renly was just beginning to think that the kid was pretty decent company when Loras turned to him and grinned suddenly. "Would you get coffee with me?" he asked, quite clearly aware of the fact that he was pushing his luck here.

"Coffee." Renly echoed blankly. He then caught properly what he'd said. "You want to get coffee?" He clarified. "With me?" He considered refusing the request entirely, just to avoid the temptation of taking him home, but then again caffeine was a very very tempting prospect... And after all, he supposed that getting a coffee with Loras would be no different really from getting coffee with any of the other people he did so with on a regular basis and didn't sleep with.

Loras shrugged. "Well, I would suggest something else entirely." He laughed. "But I was led to believe you didn't desire a repeat?"

Renly laughed. "Definitely not." he rolled his eyes. "But I guess we could get coffee. _Just_ coffee mind you, no euphemisms." He added hastily, in case the kid got any ideas.

Loras just laughed and zipped his tennis racket into a bag before standing up and pulling a jumper over his head. "Don't worry. I'm not going to seduce you in Starbucks."

…...

To Loras' slight disappointment, it did turn out to be nothing but coffee, Renly ordering an cappuccino with three extra shots of coffee and then digging around for what seemed like ages in his wallet like a typical student and paying in mainly twenty pence pieces.

The cashier didn't seem to mind though, in fact quite the opposite. She laughed and waited patiently for him to hand the money over, smiling as Loras imagined most people probably couldn't help smiling at Renly.

They sat by the window, Loras watching the leaves swirling around in a haze of red and gold and sipping his mochaccino absent-mindedly until Renly returned with his own coffee.

"That's not real coffee." Renly laughed as he took a seat opposite him, cappuccino in hand. "That's more like a warmed up chocolate milkshake."

Loras rolled his eyes. "And what you have tastes nice does it?" He eyed it warily. As far as he was concerned, nothing with three extra shots of coffee and hardly any milk could taste decent.

Renly shrugged and grinned. He didn't disagree with Loras but neither did he seem at all fazed by the taste as he sipped his drink steadily. "I'll confess," he laughed. "I'm a little bit of a caffeine addict."

Loras laughed. "Lots of all nighters then?"

Renly sighed. "Too many." He grinned. "Though all of my own making. I don't have exams this year and so going out four times a week seems like more of a sensible option than it ought to be." He laughed. "And what about you? How are the GCSEs going?"

Loras rolled his eyes but decided to let the jibe at how young he was slide. "They're great thanks." he replied flatly, gritting his teeth slightly as Renly's grin widened.

"And what about the tennis?" Renly asked, "I'm guessing that's not just a hobby?"

Loras laughed. "I'll probably take it up full time when I'm done with school." He contemplated telling him quite how many junior tournaments he'd won, but managed to stop himself, remembering what Margaery always told him about being modest until you knew somebody better. "Unless I fail Maths or English or something, I'll probably go to the states of something."

Renly laughed. "Why is it that nobody who's any decent at tennis stays over here?"

Loras grinned. "Because coaching over here is shit?"

Renly laughed at that, before fishing in his pockets this time instead of his wallet and looking delighted when he found a couple of pound coins which he then used to buy as much coffee as he could afford. To his credit, he did offer to share it with Loras, but Loras took one look at the thick coffee-overloaded concoction Renly had ordered and figured he'd politely decline.

They didn't stay long after Renly had finished his second coffee, and because it was dark, to Loras' embarrassment Renly insisted on walking with him all the way to his road, as if Loras was some child he'd been entertaining for the evening and not someone he'd just happened to have coffee with.

They swapped numbers though which Loras supposed was nice, even if Renly did make a, rather unnecessary in Loras' opinion, point of telling him that this didn't mean he was thinking of sleeping with him again anytime in the near future.

He did seem happy to go with Loras to get coffee again though, and before long, Loras found that they were meeting up at least once a week, usually on a Wednesday evening which was the day Loras was led to believe Renly handed in his weekly essay. As such, he would often text Loras on wednesday morning, or sometimes, rather worryingly Loras thought, very very late on tuesday night when he was no doubt rushing to finish his work, to tell him that he would soon be in dire need of his caffeine fix.

Usually they went to coffee shops, the locations of which Renly seemed to know like the back of his hand, and yet once or twice, when Renly confessed that he'd spent the money he'd allocated himself for that week on some new pair of jeans, or a new shirt he simply couldn't not buy, they'd go to his place. Loras had been hopeful the first time and yet that feeling had quickly faded when Renly had laughed at his expression and insisted that they stay in the kitchen, a rule he adhered to flawlessly, for there was never even once a hint that they might go upstairs.

And it was easier than Loras had expected, being nothing but friends with a guy he'd like nothing better than to slam against the wall and kiss senseless. For whilst Renly was hot, ridiculously hot in fact, he was more than that, he was irresistably charming. There was no other word for it really, Loras supposed. Renly just exuded the sort of charisma that left Loras unable to feel even vaguely frustrated with him for refusing him anything more intimate than sharing the occasional coffee between them, and instead made Loras desperate for Renly to like him.

That charm of his must have worked on everyone else too, for from a quick glimpse of Renly scrolling through his contacts on his phone, he seemed to have thousands of people he evidently knew well enough to have their number. And from their weekly coffee trips, it indeed seemed that Renly did literally know everybody. More often than not, there'd be some acquaintance of his who'd spot him in the Starbucks queue, or some friend who would yell his name from across the road and wave as they walked back. He always seemed pleased to see them, and yet when Loras asked who they were afterwards, he'd always laugh and tell him that it was just some guy he sat next to him in lectures, or some girl he'd met at a party last week._ Nobody_ he'd always insist.

And so, aside from the rather masculine girl who Loras still refused to believe was dating the best tennis player in the country, Renly didn't seem to talk about any of the other people he knew. And Loras didn't really know what to make of that- this evidently popular guy who on closer inspection actually seemed to have no close friends.

It was odd. When he'd first met Renly, that morning in his bedroom when he'd brandished a text book at him, he'd thought him easy to grasp, as easy to read as an open book. And yet the more time Loras spent with him, the more confused Loras became. There were a very few things that were rather evident about him; he was obviously very ambitious for instance, and smart too, Loras guessed, seeing as he seemed to get firsts on all his essays despite seeming to spend a decent portion of his week drunk, but as for for the most part, Loras found himself coming up entirely blank where Renly was conerned.

He was a walking contradiction, Loras thought, as friendly and easy going as they came and yet insistent on keeping everyone at arm's length. He'd smile at everyone and share a joke with anyone, and yet never share anything more personal than his self-professed addiction to caffeine.

And it drove Loras crazy, knowing that however hard he tried, he'd most likely never get any closer to_ really_ knowing Renly than that boy who sat next to him in lectures or the girl he'd met at a house party that one time, people Renly always casually told him were nobody important. And sometimes, after they'd gone their separate ways for the evening, Loras would find himself wondering what Renly would say about him if Loras happened to bump into him while he with another one of his acquaintances. He could hear his words now. _That's just some guy I sometimes get coffee with _would no doubt be the reply.

And yet the more Renly pushed him gently away, the more desperate Loras found himself becoming to be different from all those other people, to be the person that Renly _did _tell things to, that he _did_ let through those walls of his.

As it happened though, that seemed very very unlikely.

A/N Thanks guys for all the interest :) This will be updated every Wednesday evening from now on :)


	4. Chapter 4

December 2012

Loras and Margaery had never intended the party to get out of hand and they had intended even less that their parents return early from their weekend away to find the house still in an absolute state. And whilst he and Margaery had managed to get_ most_ of the red wine stains out of the carpet, there had been no time to clear away the empty bottles or even usher out the friends of Margaery's that had been too drunk to go home.

Loras supposed that it was fair enough that his parents were shouting at him now, but what wasn't fair was how he was getting all the blame for what had essentially been all Margaery's idea. He wasn't going to enlighten them to this though, he cared for his sister too much to do that, and yet he couldn't help losing his temper as his usually gentle mother shreiked about the carpets for the fiftieth time at him. Resisting the urge to grab the bottle of wine from the table and pour yet more on the carpet, he stormed from the room, slamming the door loudly behind him and snapping that he wouldn't be coming home tonight.

It was only when he'd got to the end of his road and cooled down a bit that he realised that that probably hadn't been the most sensible idea. Snow was already lightly falling and he'd left without even a coat. Nor did he have anywhere to go. He imagined that any of his friends would be happy to let him stay and yet Loras had little doubt that his parents would waste any time before phoning round every single one of his friend's parents and demanding they send him back.

The sensible part of him was telling him to go home and yet his pride wouldn't allow it. Fishing in his pockets, he wondered whether he had enough money on him to get to either Garlan or Willas, each a couple of hundred miles away at university but in different directions. Seeing as he found only about ten quid in coins and spare change, he didn't imagine he'd even get even a tenth of the way to either of them, unless of course he resorted to hitch hiking and granting sexual favours, something Loras reckoned he wasn't desperate enough to do quite yet.

Instead he sat himself down on a bench, pulling his thin jumper around him as he busied himself feeling sorry for himself.

He sat there for a good couple of hours, watching the people pass in their thick scarves and woolly hats and wondering how Margaery was defending herself back home. The snow was falling harder now and as much as Loras hated to admit it, he didn't think he could bear the cold much longer.

He was half way to Robb's house before the idea occurred to him and he quickly changed direction without much of a second thought. He wasn't overly sure Renly would still be around with it being so close to Christmas and he was even less sure Renly would let him stay even if he was in, but he reckoned he had a decent enough chance if he begged and offered to sleep downstairs to give it a try.

It took him a good half an hour to walk all the way there and he knocked on the door before he could think better of it and waited impatiently, wishing dearly he was wearing more layers.

He was mildly surprised when Jaime Lannister opened the door, for whilst he'd caught glimpses of the famous tennis star from time to time when he'd had coffee with Renly, he'd never actually spoken to him.

"Yes?" He drawled, leaning easily against the door frame as his blond hair flopped over his forehead. There were several suitcases in the hallway behind him and Loras wondered if it was Renly who was getting so obviously ready to go home for the holidays.

"Is Renly in?"

"I imagine so." He turned around and yelled Renly's name up the stairs.

There was the sound of movement upstairs and after a few moments the sound of someone swearing loudly. "What is it Jaime?" Renly called down the stairs, sounding distinctly pissed off, Loras thought.

"Door." and with that Jaime was gone, disappearing into the kitchen and leaving Loras standing shivering on the doorstep.

Renly appeared on the stairs moments later, and Loras realised why he was probably pissed off for he looked like he'd climbed straight out of the shower. His hair was completely sodden, dripping into his eyes. He'd evidently too thrown on the first clothes he'd found and Loras felt his pulse quicken to see that he was only in jeans and that even those Renly was doing up as he came down the stairs.

He laughed when he saw him, stopping on the stairs and running a hand through his wet hair. "Loras Tyrell." He grinned. "What's the occasion?"

Loras tried not to sigh at that. He couldn't stand the way Renly insisted on using his full name whenever he saw him, as if he knew a hundred people called Loras and he just happened to be one of them.

"Can I come in?"

"If you like." Renly had reached the bottom of the stairs now and he pulled the door open a little wider, stepping back to let him through. "You want some coffee?" He then looked Loras up and down, taking in no doubt the fact that he was hardly dressed for the weather and that the layers he was wearing were soaked through with snow. He grinned. "Or some more clothes perhaps?"

Loras shrugged. "Coffee would be great. If you're making some."

Renly laughed. "Come with me then." He peered round the kitchen door quickly before ushering Loras further down the hall and into what Loras supposed must be the living room. This was another one of Renly's habits that beyond frustrated him. He seemed intent on never introducing him to his housemates, going to great lengths to avoid them meeting, which was ridiculous, Loras thought, considering that one of them had already opened the door to him.

The room was surprisingly nice and tidy for a student house and aside from the pizza boxes stacked up in the corner, he'd never have guessed that students even lived here. One of Renly's housemates must have been rather tidy, Loras had to assume, as from what he'd seen of how untidy Renly was, there was no way a room could stay this neat without someone to balance him out.

Indeed, in classic Renly style, Renly started digging around under the cushions of the sofa, lifting them up one by one and chucking them on the floor until he'd pulled out a hoodie. "Here." He threw it at Loras. "I'll be back in a sec."

He disappeared out of the door and Loras heard the sound of him going back upstairs. He was back a few minutes later, fully dressed now and with yet more clothes over his arm. "I found some jeans for you. You'll probably have to roll the legs up a bit but they'll have to do." He pressed a t shirt and some socks too into Loras' hands. "You can change in here if you like. And the radiators don't actually work, but they're as good a place as any to hang your wet things." He grinned at him then before disappearing once more into the hallway.

Loras did as he was told, pulling off his wet clothes and hanging them over the radiator. He then pulled on the clothes Renly had given him. The jeans were indeed too long for him and as Renly had told him he'd need to, he leant down to roll up the legs. They were too big around the hips for him too and yet Loras supposed they would have to do. He sighed deeply though as he pulled the hoody over his head. It was obviously Renly's university one and he evidently spent a lot of time in it too as it smelt exactly like him, a fact that made Loras want to not ever give it back and instead spend each night curled up with his head against it.

Renly returned soon with two steaming mugs for which Loras was glad. He didn't think he'd ever been more cold in his life even with the dry clothes.

Renly passed his to him with a grin. "I even stole some of Jaime's hot chocolate for you." He laughed and sat down in an armchair. "I know you're not fond of my coffee."

Loras wrinkled his nose and sat down on the nearest sofa. "Nobody should be fond of your coffee."

Renly just laughed and leant back against the cushions. "So what is it then? Christmas holidays boring you already?"

Loras shrugged. "I was wondering if I could ask you a favour?"

"Ask away."

Loras bit back a sigh. "I've had a bit of an argument with my parents." He hesitated, feeling a nervousness that was quite unlike him. "And I was wondering if I could stay here with you for a couple of days?"

Renly's smile faltered ever so slightly and he raised an eyebrow. "You want to stay here?" he clarified.

Loras nodded and glanced up at him hopefully. "Not _with you_ with you. I'll sleep on the sofa if you like, on the floor even. You won't even know I'm here."

Renly seemed to contemplate Loras' proposition for a moment, bringing his legs up onto the sofa and tucking them underneath him. Eventually he nodded and his grin was back as if it hadn't even crossed his mind to say no. "Alright, but I warn you it's probably not any warmer inside than outside." He laughed. "Jaime managed to break the boiler last week. Insisted he knew what he was doing when he tinkered with it."

Loras laughed. He'd thought the house had felt cold. He was all too grateful though when Renly fished around in one of the cupboards and tossed a blanket at him. He was even happier when Renly came to sit down next to him on the sofa although he tried not to dwell on that too long. He was quite aware that Renly was giving him the benefit of the doubt here letting him stay and he didn't want to abuse that trust by trying anything. And if that meant that he had to jerk himself off in the bathroom mid-evening to stop himself doing something stupid, then so be it.

"So those suitcases in the hall aren't yours then?" Loras didn't think Renly would delay going home just to let him stay and yet he just had to be sure.

Renly laughed and shook his head. "Nah, they're Brienne's." He raised an eyebrow. "The poor girl's spending her first christmas at Jaime's this year. His father's an evil piece of shit. And his sister too." He reached over and stole a portion of the blanket he'd given to Loras, tucking it around his legs.

"So when are you going home then?"

Renly laughed. "I'm not." He picked up the tv control and turned on the TV.

"You're not?" Loras frowned. "You're going to stay here on your own then? _At Christmas_?"

Renly laughed. "Here is home for me." He flicked through the channels seemingly absent-mindedly.

"But don't you have a family home?" Loras pressed. He was unable to believe that somebody would want to stay on their own throughout christmas.

Renly shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "I guess, of sorts. But I'd rather stay here."

"But why?"

Renly laughed and leant over to ruffle his hair in an infuriatingly condescending way. "You're terribly curious aren't you?" He lounged back against the back of the sofa and grinned. "I'd rather stay here. And before you ask, there's really nothing more to it than that."

"But-" Loras bit back his protests as Renly merely laughed at him. He couldn't understand how Renly was so blasé about it. His parents would be devastated if either Garlan or Willas decided they'd rather stay at university than come home for christmas. He was rather desperate to ask why Renly didn't want to go home and yet he knew that would be met with just more casual laughter and veiled comments from Renly's side and so he just sighed and turned his attention to the christmas special Renly had put on.

It was rather amusing and yet Loras stopped paying all that much attention a few minutes in, instead unable to get away from the fact that Renly was sitting almost close enough that their thighs were touching. He couldn't help but stare at him a little bit too much, watching how every now and again Renly would brush his still damp hair out of his face, or scratch absent-mindedly at his jaw. He evidently hadn't shaved today and he looked quite a bit older with stubble, Loras thought. He could easily get away with passing for twenty three or four instead of nineteen.

Loras sighed. Nobody ought to be allowed to be that attractive. Even with so many layers on that he looked a little like an overstuffed soft toy, he still had the ability to make Loras knees feel weak just by looking in his vague direction and smiling. And he wished it was just that Renly was hot. As it was though, it was everything about him that Loras couldn't help but find captivating. And recently, he'd stopped merely imagining Renly's lips against his throat or his hands pushing down his jeans, and more often than not he'd find himself daydreaming about other sorts of things entirely, taking Renly home to meet his parents or going out to dinner with him and then coming home and doing nothing more than curling up on the sofa and watching a film, Renly's hands in his hair.

He harboured very secret hopes that when he turned sixteen Renly would let them do exactly that, that he'd take him on dates and maybe even let them be a couple. He knew that Renly found him attractive, that much had been evident the first night he'd met Renly, and he seemed to enjoy his company well enough. And surely those were good enough reasons to date someone, Loras thought.

He was just wondering how good it would feel if Renly were to ask him out when Renly himself interrupted his musings, nudging Loras' shoulder and grinning.

"Food?" He made to grab Loras' wrist and pull him to his feet, laughing when his hands grasped only empty sleeves. "Too big for you too is it?"

Loras just rolled his eyes and pushed back his sleeves. "It's not my fault you're ridiculously tall."

Renly laughed and padded through to the kitchen which was empty now. "I'm not _ridiculously_ tall."

"You're what, well over six foot?"

Renly shrugged and grinned. "Six foot three, six foot four, there round abouts." He opened the freezer, rooting through the drawers for a while. "Pizza ok?" he asked eventually.

Loras nodded. It didn't look like Renly did much cooking. The drawers were labelled with either a large R or a large B and all the ones with an R seemed to have little more than pizzas and oven chips with the occasional potato waffles or potato smileys thrown in for variety. And ice cream, lots and lots of ice cream, Loras saw as Renly pulled the drawer out a little further.

It was the potato waffles that Renly chose, shoving them onto a baking tray with the two pizzas. Loras thought about offering to help but how much help did one need with oven pizzas and chips? As it was, he was much happier just standing and watching Renly, lost again in imaginings of how lovely it would be if after the pizzas were done Loras could have curled into Renly's side on the sofa to stay warm and have him feed him ice cream on a spoon.

...

Renly ate his pizza absent-mindedly as he wondered where to put Loras for the night. He contemplated leaving him down here on the sofa but he imagined that that would be a little cruel. The house was always cold and yet now that the radiators were broken, Renly suspected that the kid would all but freeze downstairs on his own. His own room on the other hand had a small heater and Brienne had had Jaime, which made it just about bearable in their rooms.

He sighed. Part of him still thought he was out of his mind to let the boy stay, irregardless of the fact that he'd rather enjoyed having him around this evening. He hadn't had the heart to say no though. Loras had looked all too pitiful when he'd turned up on the doorstep earlier, shivering slightly and soaked to the bone. He'd looked rather lovely too though, Renly had had to admit, with his wet things clinging to him a little and with snowflakes in his hair. And he looked perhaps even lovelier now, with his sleeves that were too long for him and his curls that were more than a little awry.

Glancing over at him, he seemed lost in his thoughts, staring absent-mindedly at Renly but not appearing to see him.

Renly bit back a sigh. It was rather flattering how the kid was so obviously infatuated with him and yet he couldn't help feel a little sorry for him. The boy must have realised Renly wouldn't so much as touch him whilst he was still fifteen, and even once he was sixteen, Renly thought sleeping with him would be a little dubious. He'd be almost twenty by then and his friends at uni would never let him live it down if they knew he was sleeping with someone still in school. He was hot though, that much Renly had to admit, and from what he did remember of that night he'd taken Loras home he'd been pretty decent fun between the sheets too.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of more suitcases being brought down the stairs. Most likely Brienne and Jaime getting ready to leave.

"I'll be back in a moment." He said to Loras, getting up and closing the door behind him.

Indeed, Brienne was hauling a large bag into the hallway. Renly grinned at her. "You off now?"

She nodded solemnley. "And you're sure you're ok to stay here on your own Renly?"

Renly shrugged. "I stayed here last year, and it was fine." He laughed. "I'd much rather be here on my own than go where you're going. Shall I say good luck?" He grinned. "I've only ever spent one christmas with Tywin Lannister and yet I warn you, he doesn't get much into the christmas spirit."

Brienne shifted a little from one foot to the other and Renly regretted his words. He knew all too well that she was nervous about going to Jaime's for christmas. It was no secret that Cersei hated her and that both her and her father thought her too ugly for Jaime. That was an easy conclusion to come to Renly thought though. As much as he liked Brienne, it was clear to see that Jaime was beyond attractive and she would always be more than a little plain. Still, they made a better couple than Robert and Cersei did and those two had been a perfect match for each other in looks.

"Enjoy yourself." Renly told her gently. "And it'll be fine. Jaime evidently doesn't care what his family thinks."

She shrugged and busied herself zipping up bags and rearranging suitcases, a faint pink blush coming to her cheeks. She straightened up though when Jaime came downstairs with the last bag in his left hand, a large plastic one filled to bursting with presents. She took it when he handed it to her and pulled out one of the wrapped boxes. "For you." She said, her face breaking into a smile as she pushed it into Renly's hands.

Renly grinned and took it. "I'll put it under the imaginary tree." He leant back against the doorframe. "And Jaime's got the things I got for you."

She laughed and leant in to hug him, and Renly smirked over her shoulder at Jaime as she wrapped her large arms around him.

Jaime just rolled his eyes and clapped Renly hard on the shoulder. "Call us if you get lonely. You can keep Cersei's bed warm for her." He smirked. "She's coming round on boxing day with the kids and yet sans husband. Want to take bets on how long before they divorce?"

It was Renly's turn to roll his eyes. Robert and Cersei was usually a banned topic in their house and yet at Christmas it seemed that mentions of the two of them couldn't be avoided. He was tempted to take Jaime's offer of a bet up though; it was a miracle to him that Robert and Cersei hadn't yet done exactly that years ago. He laughed. "Give my love to my sweet sister-in-law. No doubt she'll miss me diffusing the tension as Robert and her fight." He grinned. "But as for warming her bed, well, she has Robert to do that for her. I believe I would be quite unnecessary."

Jaime grinned. "Perhaps. And I see you've got your own bed warmer here tonight." He laughed. "That one's a regular isn't he?" He smirked. "And good on you Renly, he's hot. Almost as hot as me."

Renly sighed and ignored Jaime's arrogant remark. "He's just a friend actually."

"Is he?" Jaime grinned and opened the door, ushering Brienne out. "Well have a good christmas Renly. Part of me does actually envy you."

Renly laughed and watched them leave, rolling his eyes as Jaime complained loudly for the hundredth time that day that Brienne had forced them to get a taxi when he was perfectly capable of driving. He didn't seem happy either that she'd insisted on taking all the bags, loading them into the back of the cab herself.

Within a few moments though they were ready and Renly waved goodbye until the taxi disappeared down the road, closing the door when they were out of sight and shivering from the cold. He was sad to see them go to be honest, even Jaime, and whilst he had told Loras earlier that he was happy to stay here on his own, he supposed that that wasn't quite true. It would be cold and lonely in the house and he imagined that on Christmas day, he'd feel a little less than cheerful. Yet then again, he was quite sure he'd rather spend every single christmas alone than spend another one with Robert or Stannis and the women they called their wives. There was always fighting at Robert's and Joffrey never seemed happy with any of the presents he'd been given, whilst at Stannis' there would always be an awkward silence throughout the whole meal until Stannis managed to be offended by something and then the silence would be replaced by the grinding of his teeth.

Renly was only glad that Robert and Stannis hadn't decided to have christmas together this year. When they did that, he couldn't really avoid going then. As it was though, nowadays they didn't bother trying to even seem like they were on good terms and so he didn't see why he had to go either. He'd had quite enough of being shunted between the two of them when he'd been at school. They'd sent him to a boarding school since he'd been old enough to be eligible to go and he'd spent his holidays alternating between the two of them, being driven half crazy at Robert's and being driven bored at Stannis'.

He laughed though as he headed back to the living room, quite happy that both Robert and Stannis and him seemed ready to admit now that none of them actually enjoyed spending any time with each other.

Loras was still sat on the sofa when he returned and after much deliberation Renly took him upstairs with him, making up a bed on the floor out of cushions and pillows. He tried to make it as comfortable as possible, finding as many blankets as he could in the airing cupboard and making a makeshift duvet out of them. He had to admit that he felt a little guilty not suggesting that Loras merely share his double bed and yet he imagined that being overly cautious was probably the more sensible option.

Once the bed was made up, he rifled through his wardrobe for some pyjamas for him, chucking some checked bottoms at him that were now too short for Renly. "Can't sleep in jeans after all." he laughed as Loras caught them. "And they are really nice and soft."

Loras smiled then and Renly bit back a sigh as he saw how his face lit up as he ran his hands over the fabric. He had the decency though to go to the bathroom to get changed even though they both knew that they'd seen each other naked before.

Renly laughed as he changed his own clothes,trying to see if he could remember what Loras had looked like naked. His memory of that night was a little hazy and yet he definitely remembered being pleased with what he saw, guiltily so. And that, Renly thought, combined with that pretty face of his, made the kid a walking temptation on legs, even if he did appear to be behaving himself tonight. He had to hand it to Loras actually. When he'd turned up, he'd wondered whether this was merely a ploy to be able to stay the night and yet he'd been very good, and aside from staring at him a little too often, he had done an admirably good job at hiding the fact that he was quite clearly desperate for Renly to fuck him again.

His behaviour had been impeccable so far and yet Renly's self control was not so. And so sighing, he pulled open the drawer by his bed and rooted around for the box of condoms he always kept there. He only had about four left and yet it still felt like a great waste of money as he took a pair of scissors and cut through them all. It did give him a little peace of mind though and with Jaime gone now, he wouldn't even be able to swallow his pride and beg him to borrow a few if he did momentarily decide later on that sleeping with Loras was a pefectly acceptable idea.

Loras came back a few minutes later, in the pyjamas Renly had given him and with his university jumper on top, the sleeves rolled up now so they were the proper length. It would be odd, Renly thought, to have a guy in his room and yet not sleep with him. He was reminded somewhat of his schooldays, when the boys there had used to stay up and talk well into the night until someone had come to tell them off.

"You can have the bed if you like." Renly offered. "And I'll take the floor."

But as promised, Loras shook his head and settled down on the floor quite happily, pulling the blankets Renly had found him up around his neck. "I'm fine." he insisted. "You won't even know I'm here."

And so Renly climbed into bed. It was freezing even in there and Renly thought his feet likely to drop off despite the thick socks he had on. He leant over to turn the light off. "You sure you don't want to call your parents or something? Let them know you're not outside in the snow?" He thought back to all Loras had told him about his family. He was quite clearly besotted with all of them and Renly wondered what they had argued about. Knowing Loras, it was probably something very petty, for the kid seemed to have a temper that was more volatile than a jack-in-a-box.

"I'm alright." Loras laughed. "I texted Margaery when you were saying goodbye to your housemates.I figured I couldn't ignore them forever and I'd already had fourty seven missed calls by then."

Renly smiled and wondered if Loras realised quite how lucky he was to have a family that cared about him. He imagined Robert or Stannis probably wouldn't even have noticed if he'd ran away for the night, let alone called him fourty seven times until he answered. He laughed. "It seems they miss you rather a lot Loras."

To his surprise Loras didn't laugh back, merely frowned and looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Won't_ your _parents miss you? When you don't go home for Christmas that is?"

Renly smiled wryly and bit back a laugh. "I doubt it." he said, pulling the covers up over his shoulders.

That made Loras' frown deepen and so Renly laughed again and leant down to ruffle his hair in that way he knew he hated. "Now come. Go to sleep."


End file.
